Tackling discrimination on Face Equality Day
How do you react when you see someone on the street, on a bus or in a shop with a facial disfigurement? Do you quickly look away, or does curiosity compel you to stare?
Over half a million people in the UK have a facial disfigurement - that’s roughly one in every hundred. The uncomfortable truth is that they are often subjected to negative reactions while going about their day-to-day lives, and sometimes even to harassment and violence.
Many of these reactions are knee-jerk and unintentional. Research commissioned by Changing Faces shows that the vast majority of people say they do not discriminate against others based on facial appearance, but an Implicit Attitude Test revealed that two-thirds do hold unfavourable views about those with disfigurements.
This can have a huge impact on how people are treated at work, in school and out in public, and how they are portrayed in the media. And in turn this can reduce people’s confidence so that they no longer feel able to achieve what they want to in life.
At the Equality and Human Rights Commission we believe it is important to tackle discrimination in any form, which is why we are supporting Face Equality Day today. Changing Faces do vital work to support those in need – whether that’s offering advice on how to report harassment or build self-esteem, providing a space for people to share their stories, or working with employers, teachers and healthcare professionals to stamp out prejudice.
The findings from ‘Disfigurement in the UK’ – that authorities are failing to stand up to discrimination effectively even when alerted to it, and that people with a facial disfigurement often lack aspiration due to the low expectations of others – are distressing. But we welcome the publication of this report as a huge step towards raising awareness of the issues and encouraging people to make a commitment to treat everyone equally, no matter what their face or body looks like.
We at the Commission have signed up to the Face Equality Pledge and will encourage other organisations to do so. In a society that can often seem obsessed with physical beauty, it is crucial that every employer values the skills, experience and unique perspectives that their people represent. As individuals, we must see everyone for the whole person they are, treating everyone fairly and with equal dignity and respect. We will be wearing our butterflies with pride.